Mmakau family murder accused bail application to be heard on Tuesday

The bail application of a 20-year-old woman and the two hitmen she confessed to hiring to kill her parents and three siblings will be heard in the Brits Magistrate’s Court in the North West on Tuesday morning.

Onthatile Sebati’s family was killed in December 2016 in Mmakau village.

Last week, the court referred her for psychological assessment.

Sebati and the alleged hitmen, Tumelo and Kagiso Mokone, were arrested three weeks ago.

This after Sebati, who was 15 at the time of the killings, confessed to police that she had hired them to kill her family.

The accused are facing five charges of murder, armed robbery and theft.

Community members are still in shock

Meanwhile, community members are still in shock.

“It didn’t sit well with us. We were just shocked even now. I don’t know what to say,” says a community member.

“I remember the day the coffins came out. It didn’t matter how strong one was. Everyone was in tears,” says another community member.

Ga-Rankuwa community still reeling from family murder five years on:

‘Signs parents fail to pick up’

The motive for the murders remains known.

A psychological expert, Reema Nundlall says this behaviour can be driven by a number of factors.

“Some of the signs the parents fail to pick up could include unruly defiant behaviour, threats of killing someone, whether it was a teacher or friend or even family member. Aggressive behaviour, depression or anti-social tendencies, are some of the behaviour the 15-year-old could have demonstrated.”